Plastic seltzer bottles into protective masks? Polar co-owners crafting help

When a DIY video on YouTube caught her sister-in-law’s eye, Carolyn Stimpson’s extended family immediately stepped up to help.

As co-owners of Worcester-based Polar Beverage, crafting two-liter seltzer bottles into personal protective equipment, or PPE, for people on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 felt like something they could do.

“Three-P-Es is what we’re calling them,” Stimpson added, coyly dubbing them “Polar Personal Protective Equipment.”

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Stimpson, who also co-owns Wachusett Mountain, and her extended family have donated thousands of plastic bottles to the cause and crafted hundreds of completed masks for medical workers in the area.

“What do we have? What can we do? How do we help? It’s baseline human instinct. How can you help?” Stimpson said humbly about the effort.

The family also put together their own how-to video.

Another company nearby, Leominster-based AIS, is also using materials it has available to help protect others. AIS, which manufactures office furniture, has dedicated a line of workers to making about 200 cloth masks each day, already donating thousands in the area, including to health care professionals at UMass Memorial Health Care.

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Editor’s Note: The co-owner’s email address has been removed from the story because they are no longer taking requests for sterile bottles.

RESOURCES:

- Massachusetts Coronavirus Information

- Boston Coronavirus Information

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